Curriculum

Ryecroft Infant School is committed to delivering a broad and balanced creative curriculum and to providing quality education for each child in school.

Children learn most effectively through a well-planned, stimulating and challenging curriculum. Our curriculum in school includes many first-hand experiences which help children to understand by doing, seeing and touching. Educational visits, visitors and well-planned play activities also contribute to the curriculum. Educational visits are an essential part of our curriculum, children learn directly from these experiences and then they are ‘followed-up’ back in the classroom. At Ryecroft we recognise the importance of enriching the curriculum in this way and hope that parents will recognise the value of this, and continue to support it through voluntary contributions.

We recognise that each child is unique and the curriculum is designed to meet the individual needs of each child. We are always reviewing our practice and provision to ensure that it meets the learning needs of our children. Teaching focuses on developing basic skills and developing positive attitudes. The whole school participates in a daily phonics lesson using a nationally recognised programme-Read, Write, Inc. This programme is carefully structured to meet the individual needs of children in this subject area.

We value the Arts and enrich the curriculum on offer. The creative curriculum is at the heart of our work.

We recognise the importance of competence in ‘basic skills’. In July 2015, the school was successful in achieving the Primary Quality Skills Mark for the third time.

We teach the National curriculum core subjects of English, Maths, Science and, plus the Foundation Subjects of Computing, Art and design, Design and Technology, Music, History, Geography, and Physical Education.

Early Years Foundation Stage

In EYFS, children follow the Foundation Stage Curriculum. This consists of seven areas of learning. The three prime areas build the children’s capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive.

The areas of learning are:

Communication and language

Physical development

Personal, social and emotional development

Literacy

Mathematics

Understanding the world

Expressive arts and design

We will regularly share information about our work in school with you, so that you can work in partnership with us and support your child’s learning at home.

Further information about the curriculum is available on request from school.

Read, Write, Inc

Learning to read and write is supported using the Read, Write, Inc phonics programme. The programme is used throughout school from the start of reception to year 2. Read, Write, Inc reading texts are used during this lesson. For individual reading children read books from our book band levelled texts within school which contain a variety of different types of text at an appropriate reading level.

All children have a daily phonics and reading lesson at the start of the school day, immediately after registration. This lasts for approximately 40 minutes. Children are assessed regularly and the groupings are changed to reflect need and ability. Children are grouped throughout school and the sessions are taught in small groups.

Additional intervention work is also planned and implemented for pupils requiring this.

Pupils are taught to:

Decode letter-sound correspondence using their phonic knowledge and skills.

Read ‘tricky’ / high frequency words on sight

Build up a key vocabulary of words that they are able to read and spell

Understand what they have read

Read aloud with fluency and expression

As part of the programme children read books which are closely matched to their phonic knowledge and ability. They also read a range of other texts widely and often as part of their daily work in school.

All children in year 1 will take the phonics screening test in June shortly before they move to year 2 in the September of the next academic year.

Year 2 children who failed their year 1 phonics screening test will be given additional target support using the principles of the Read, Write, Inc phonics programme. These children attend the ‘phonics club’ and are also often targeted to receive additional reading support. This group of children is screened regularly and results monitored and analysed.